Thursday's NBA Finals rematch will look much different from how things were in June.
Less than eight months after the Finals ended, the Mavericks made the stunning move to acquire Anthony Davis from the Lakers in exchange for Western Conference Finals MVP Luka Doncic. As such, the final regular-season meeting between Dallas and Boston will have a completely different feel from the five Finals matchups.
The Mavs acquired Davis on Sunday, Feb. 2 but he missed out on his first opportunity to debut as he works his way back from an abdominal strain suffered on Tuesday, Jan. 28. His next debut opportunity comes against a Celtics team he recently excelled against while in L.A.
Will Davis take the floor for the new-look Finals rematch on Thursday? Here is the latest on his status.
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Is Anthony Davis playing tonight?
Davis is officially listed as questionable, but the expectation is he will make his Mavericks debut on Saturday against the Rockets as opposed to tonight against the Celtics, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
Davis has only missed eight days of action with the abdominal injury. When he first went down, the Lakers gave him a one-week timeline to return to the floor, meaning a return to play on Thursday would be in line with the initial timeline.
Before traveling to Boston, Dallas practiced at Temple University in Philadelphia. Davis was a limited participant in practice, but the team shared footage of him getting shots up afterward.
Anthony Davis getting up shots at Mavs practice 👀pic.twitter.com/aywyEGuNpt
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) February 5, 2025
Despite pre-game warmups, Davis has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Celtics. He may be able to debut for Dallas on Saturday at home against the Rockets.
Mavs Injury Update:
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) February 6, 2025
Anthony Davis (abdominal strain), Caleb Martin (right hip strain), P.J. Washington Jr. (personal reasons), Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture) and Dwight Powell (right hip strain) will be OUT tonight against the Celtics.
Mavericks schedule 2024-25
Here are Dallas' final games before the All-Star break. The Mavericks begin a four-game homestand on Saturday, Feb. 8.
| Date | Opponent | Time (ET) | TV channel |
| Feb. 6 | at Celtics | 7:30 p.m. | TNT, truTV, Max |
| Feb. 8 | vs. Rockets | 3 p.m. | — |
| Feb. 10 | vs. Kings | 8:30 p.m. | — |
| Feb. 12 | vs. Warriors | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Feb. 13 | vs. Heat | 8:30 p.m. | — |
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